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Original poster

Midwives, nurses & health visitors to be the target of a new government anti-obesity campaign

40 replies

KingRolo · 07/04/2009 14:26

Article here

The DoH admits 'it needs to put its own house in order'. Too right. I'm not overweight, nor is dh or dd, and I'm tired of being given healthy eating advice by health visitors who are clearly obese.

What does anyone else think?

OP posts:
Highlander · 07/04/2009 15:32

DH is a doctor and always laughs that a pre-requisite for being a nurse is to have a BMI of at least 35

DaisyMooSteiner · 07/04/2009 15:38

I can only think of maybe one or two overweight HCPs where I work - quite honestly, you'd never be able to squeeze past the cot, wheeled table and shedloads of bags to turn the buzzer off if you were overweight!

Habbibu · 07/04/2009 15:39

Bit harsh of your DH, highlander - most of the nurses round here look pretty fit.

Nancy66 · 07/04/2009 15:42

Most nurses I encounter aren't exactly sylph like I have to say....

louii · 07/04/2009 15:45

I am a fat nurse though prefer to describe myself as Matronly.

Shift work, nights in particular, eating at irregular times, all take there toll.

ProfYaffle · 07/04/2009 16:00

The food you can buy in hospitals is generally really unhealthy, that can't help the staff working there. dh has spent a lot of time in Addenbrookes, whenever he's in there I put on weight because I have to buy my food from their eating area. There's one healthy outlet - a baked potato place - but it's only open for a couple of hours at lunchtime. KFC and Burger King are the only places open at tea time/evening.

Original poster
KingRolo · 07/04/2009 16:19

It's true, hospitals do sell terrible food but that's no excuse for eating badly and becoming obese. Does no one take a packed lunch to work anymore? It really isn't that difficult to take a sandwich and an apple to work instead of buying a burger and donut. I think there has to be an element of taking responsibility for what one puts in one's mouth.

OP posts:
brettgirl2 · 07/04/2009 17:14

I think though that the shift patterns mean that they are often exhausted and eat in an attempt to keep their energy up.

FWIW I think it's appalling, nurses have enough to put up with as it is.

PullMyFinger · 07/04/2009 17:19

yy if adequate nutritious food is more readily available at hospitals then that surely would be a help

plus nurses/midwives work long shifts, have to juggle childcare all with poor pay and depressing working conditions, and we all know that cheaper convenience food is poor quality

deanychip · 07/04/2009 17:27

Ima nurse, my BMi is above what it should be.
I take a healthy packed lunch and i am a regular at weight watchers.

BUT the amount of chocoaltes and bickies that we have bought for us is truck loads!

If you havent got time to go for a break and you are wobbling because you havent eaten since 6.45 that morning and it is now 5pm...you are gonna reach for a bicky arent you!(the record for me is not having a wee from 6.30am till 7pm at night....no time to eat if i have no time to sit and pee)

Must admit feelings of utter UTTER dread when i have to lift a 36 stone individual up a bed or move them to clean them up because they have a steady stream of the shits 10 times a day. Really really do not compare myself to that level of obesety.

DisasterEggs · 07/04/2009 17:41

shite working conditions =

no drinking water available. not allowed to drink at nurses desk. actually counter productive to drink as no time for toilet breaks

no time for meal breaks. (this means every single shift I am working for at least 30 minutes for free as don't get paid for mealbreaks but never get to take them)

shite conditions = comfort eating or eating on the go. you can't eat salad while on 30 second toilet break or while driving to/from work.

poor pay - can't afford gym membership

shift patterns - body clock doesn't ever know when to switch from starvation mode as never knows when it has to conserve energy.

another excuse for nurse bashing.

when the working conditons of nurses / HCPs are improved perhaps then the government can start to look at why some of these people are overweight.

Original poster
KingRolo · 07/04/2009 20:03

God, that's really bad DisasterEggs. Do you really not get access to drinking water? Surely that's a basic human right?

OP posts:
Simplysally · 07/04/2009 20:13

The resturant in the hospital where I work doesn't sell much healthy food: there is a salad counter and jacket potatoes as well but these run out quite fast. I think nurses and doctors probably need to have longer breaks - so they can eat properly.

It's a bit worrying that people in such a responsible job aren't getting proper rest breaks .

roseability · 07/04/2009 21:27

So if you or your loved one is lying in a bed dying and needing pain control, you will give a shit about the BMI of the nurse

What a load of political twaddle and another excuse to knock already overworked, underpaid and stressed staff.

Most nurses don't need to hand out healthy eating advice on a regular basis. In acute settings, a pateint's long term weight loss is really not priority.

Cazzaben · 07/04/2009 21:41

Exactly my thoughts roseability... aload of old Crap...

Who cares if they are overweight??

Can't believe anyone would be so shallow minded to not take advise on healthy living from someone who is overweight.

Just goes to show what this world is coming to... Does that mean if your childs teacher was overweight you wouldn't want them to be teaching your child about the healthy and unhealthy ways to live???

Original poster
KingRolo · 08/04/2009 09:03

A HVs job is to advise on health so if they are very overweight they are clearly not following any of the advice they hand out. It's like a doctor telling you to pack in the fags while puffing away at a Bensons. A teacher's job is to teach many different subjects so their weight isn't as much of an issue.

OP posts:
MrsJamesMartin · 08/04/2009 09:07

I bet Highlander's DH has everyone rolling about with his witty quips

Habbibu · 08/04/2009 09:08

You can be terrible at following advice while still being brilliant at giving it/explaining/being supportive about it. If you're saying that HVs have to be role models, that's a different thing.

edam · 08/04/2009 09:10

Actually, there are positive aspects to health professionals struggling with the same things that affect patients. A kind of fellow feeling rather than orders from on high.

And everyone who talks about nurse and presumably doctor working patterns making it bloody hard to keep weight off is right. My sister's a nurse - night shifts are known to fuck up people's metabolism anyway and are linked to being overweight, but needs must. However, it adds insult to injury that she doesn't get meal breaks because she's run off her feet and often the only qualified nurse on duty. Stays hours after the end of her shift to finish the paperwork rather than neglecting her patients.

TotalChaos · 08/04/2009 09:21

anyone else think funny how it's the female dominated professions in the firing line on this one . as a patient, I want good compassionate care, not a role model for good dietary advice.

Kathyis6incheshigh · 08/04/2009 09:30

If this meant the govt was trying to sort the problem out, addressing the factors that lead to nurses being obese like the lack of breaks and healthy food in hospitals, this would be great - a good opportunity to try out on a smaller scale the things that would work for society more generally.
However, I suspect they are just planning to leave those things as they are and subject nurses to a few more hectoring leaflets and posters.

Original poster
KingRolo · 08/04/2009 09:38

The report actually says, "diet and exercise programmes will be targeted at overweight frontline staff in a position of having to advise children and families on losing weight and becoming more active - particularly maternity staff, midwives, health visitors and school nurses." I don't think this applies so much to nurses on the wards tbh.

I think those working in the community (not hospitals - a different role imo), such as community midwives, HVs and school nurses should be good role models and should folow the advice they hand out.

OP posts:
EasterEggsintheSky · 08/04/2009 09:48

I hate to bring up another thread but about 6 months ago wasn't there a big fight here about someone's child's teacher having the cheek to teach the children about healthy eating when the teacher herself was overweight. So clearly some people do think that a person's weight is far more important than their ability to do their job.

I don't care if nurses or teachers are the size of houses as long as they know what they are doing and are good at it.

TotalChaos · 08/04/2009 09:49

so why not GPs too - or do they think GPs wouldn't put up with this sort of patronising?

sarah293 · 08/04/2009 10:00

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